Numbers on Jobs, Oil, Corn and Other Important Indicators Are Casualties of Washington's Gridlock—Which Could Leave Investors Flying Blind

As far as anyone can tell, the job market is holding steady. But until the government shutdown ends, who really knows?

Wednesday, check-cutting giant Automatic Data Processing reported that private-sector employers added 166,000 jobs last month, a shade less than the 178,000 expected by economists. But the Conference Board reported its measure of online help-wanted ads reached its highest level on record. And on Tuesday, the Institute...